Pitino talks Dean Smith, UVA and Pitt

In the wake of legendary North Carolina coach Dean Smith's passing this weekend, University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino on Monday spoke at length about Smith's humble nature despite his long list of coaching accomplishments.

Smith won 879 games as the coach at UNC, including two national championships. He is credited with championing the use of analytics and metrics to inform his coaching, something that has become a significant part of modern basketball. Perhaps more famously than any other achievement, Smith signed the first black scholarship athlete at UNC, Charlie Scott, in the late 1960s, when when racial tensions were high in the South.

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"Coach Smith's innovations were unbelievable, but the thing that always stuck out to me was his humility," Pitino said on the ACC coaches teleconference Monday.

"All of us coaches have an overblown sense of what we mean to the sport and all that, but he was the best in the game, and you never would have known it when you talked to him. He stuck out, and he was just a true blessing to the game of college basketball, and we'll always remember him."

Smith was 83. He passed away on Saturday after a long battle with a condition that caused loss of memory.

Boeheim's troubles. Pitino was also asked on Monday about his long-time friend and mentor Jim Boeheim, whose Syracuse program has imposed a postseason ban in response to an ongoing NCAA investigation.

Boeheim, Pitino said, is one of the few coaches who, as he ages, still enjoys recruiting and chasing good players.

"I do know that he's going through some tough times now, but tough people get through tough times, and he'll certainly get through this," Pitino said.

Virginia's atmosphere impresses. UVA's John Paul Jones Arena was packed to the brim for Saturday's matchup between two top-10 teams, and Pitino couldn't have been more impressed.

UVA fans, he said, start to rise to their feet and get loud in the final 10 seconds of the shot clock like New York Knicks fans would during the Knicks' heyday.

"It was one of the best home-court advantages I've ever seen," Pitino said. "I have to put Virginia and their fan culture right up there with Kansas. Most home crowds are bored by defense, but Virginia fans are driven by it."

Pitt's improving. Pitino will talk at greater length on Tuesday about Louisville's Wednesday night game vs. Pitt, but the coach said Monday that the Panthers have improved since Louisville's 80-68 win in Pittsburgh two weeks ago.

"They've made changes to their offense and changes to their defense, and they've gotten so much better since the first time we've played them," Pitino said. "It really stands out on film."